'Attacks won't break coalition'

US officials have vowed that the international coalition in Iraq will not be broken by roadside ambushes.

The pledge came as rebels killed two South Korean electricians, a day after a Colombian contractor, two Japanese diplomats and seven Spanish intelligence officers were murdered.

US commanders said the attacks indicate that insurgents are trying to undermine the coalition trying to rebuild Iraq after the US-led war ousted Saddam Hussein, but vowed the international force would not be intimidated.

"They clearly are targeting coalition members in an effort to intimidate all allies in Iraq and discourage their participation in the reconstruction of Iraq," said coalition spokesman Dan Senor. "The enemies of freedom ... are trying to break the coalition's will."

Spanish and Japanese officials said the deaths wouldn't change their commitments to the coalition.

"They intend to stay the course," Senor said. "Their will is stiffened and the reconstruction goes on."

Attacks against US forces, while fewer in recent days, continued their bloody toll as well. Two US soldiers were killed and a third was wounded on Saturday when they came under rocket-propelled grenade and automatic fire near the Syrian border in Husaybah, 200 miles northwest of Baghdad, the military said.

Their deaths brought to 104 the number of coalition troops who have died in Iraq in November, including 79 American troops. In terms of coalition losses, it has been the bloodiest month of the war that began March 20.

Also, the US military for the first time acknowledged that the single deadliest incident of the war -- the collision of two Black Hawk helicopters in Mosul on Nov. 15 -- may have been caused by enemy action.

The military had not previously speculated publicly on the cause of the collision in which 17 soldiers died.